The present invention relates generally to tree harvesting apparatus of the type that is utilized for severing a large tree at the base.
Because of the increased cost of manual labor and other economic factors, a considerable amount of attention has recently been devoted towards development of various types of mechanical tree harvesting apparatus to replace the conventional manual chain saw. One such type of mechanized tree harvesting apparatus that has found a remarkable degree of commercial success is the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,575,222, assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
Quite recently considerable emphasis has also been placed upon increasing the productivity of mechanized tree harvesting apparatus by providing some type of accumulator mechanism for receiving the harvested trees so that a plurality of trees can be gathered before they are deposited on the ground in a group or placed on a vehicle for subsequent transportation. In this connection, one type of accumulator apparatus is disclosed in Tucek U.S. Pat. No. 3,910,326. This patent discloses a tree harvesting head which is adapted to be attached to the end of a boom with mechanism for accumulating a plurality of trees on the harvesting head before it is necessary to dump the trees.
While the harvesting apparatus disclosed in the above-mentioned patents have found a remarkable degree of commercial success, competitors are constantly striving for increasing the productivity of a mechanized harvesting mechanism, preferably at a reduced cost.